On a beautiful Saturday morning like the one we enjoyed yesterday, it is likely that everyone can think of dozens of things they would like to do.

But, thankfully, for more than a thousand people the item at the top of their to-do list was this: Make our community a better place.

The countywide cleanup, now a part of the Great American Cleanup and Keep America Beautiful initiative, has continued to grow.

And the pun is intended.

It was encouraging to see young and old alike fanned out across Ironton and much of the entire county to pick up trash, plant some flowers, trim trees and just generally make an effort to make our county put its best foot forward.

This event attracted people of all backgrounds, all socioeconomic statuses, all races and geographical areas of Lawrence County.

So many people deserve credit for the continued success of this event.

At the top of that particular list is Dan Palmer and the staff at the Lawrence-Scioto Solid Waste Management District. They work hard for weeks and probably even months behind-the-scenes to coordinate and organize an event of this magnitude.

While some would argue that it is their job to do so, the bottom line is they go above and beyond the call of duty.

The agency is a big reason why this event is now countywide and impacts more lives than ever before.

Certainly some of the credit should also go to Randy Lilly as he started the Ironton Cleanup Day well more than a decade ago. That community effort has now evolved into the Ironton portion of the countywide event.

The success of this ultimately comes down to the fact that many Lawrence Countians truly do care about the region we call home. Saturday was proof of that.

Were there other places that I would have rather been yesterday morning instead of getting out of bed extra early and basically doing yard work? Maybe.

Would it have been as rewarding as knowing that you are part of something bigger than yourself and making a difference? Not a chance

Spending time as part of the Great American Cleanup was a day well spent and hopefully plants the proverbial seeds for future growth of the non-vegetation variety.

 

Michael Caldwell is publisher of The Tribune. To reach him, call (740) 532-1445 ext. 24 or by e-mail at mike.caldwell@irontontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeCaldwell_IT.